Cotton fan



Dec. 17, 1940..

G. N. FRANKS COTTON FAN Filed Jan. 24, 1940 In vemor G. N. FRANKS Afiomeys Patented Dec. 11, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE 6... aifiliifim m... a Application January 24, 1940, Serial No. 315,389

8 Claims. (Cl. 302-47) (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended Apr-J30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) This application is made under the act of March. 3, 1883, as amended by the act of April 30, 1928, and the invention herein described and claimed, if patented, may be manufactured 6 and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

I hereby dedicate the invention herein de- 10 scribed to the free use of the People in the territory of the United States to take effect on thegranting of a patent to me.

This invention relates to improvements in cotton fans of the centrifugal type in which the.

material operated upon is passed directly through the fan casing. Heretofore, in certain types of centrifugal fans for handling seed cotton, cotton seed, gin lint, debris and by-products thereof, the materials 20 pass directly through the blades of the fan, or impinge upon a flat perforated disc or foraminous guard secured to the blades. This arrangement occasions a head-on impact which results in cracking, shattering, roping or twisting, and

25 other undesirable effects upon the materials. My invention eliminates such ahead-on impact and permits the handling of extremely dry seed cottons and cotton seed at high inlet velocities without damage.

In general, this invention provides a simple and effective pneumatic cushion at a critical location for eliminating physical contact between the material and the fan wheel ard, such location being the zone where the heaviest im- 35 pacts would otherwise occur. The material being operated upon changes direction from the inlet to the outlet of the fan by a series of easy diversions, rather than through violently abrupt turns. 7

40 In addition to the above objects and advantages, one of .the inherent advantages of my invention is that it results in greater mechanical efliciency of the fan.

45 The following description, consid red together with the accompanying drawing, will disclose this invenln'on more fully, its construction, arrangements, and operations of parts, and-further objects and advantages thereof will be apparent.

50 In the drawing:

Figure 1. is-a side elevational view of a, conventional fan modified in accordance with an embodiment ofmy invention.

Figure 2 is a section along the line 22 of 68 Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective of the fan wheel and guard removed from the casing.

Referring with more particularity to the drawing, in which like numerals designate like parts, the embodiment illustrated comprises a suitable 5 fan casing l0 having a fan wheel indicated genorally at ll fixed to a shaft l2, said shaft being rotatably mounted and having one end projecting through the casing for a power connection.

The outlet of the fan is designated by the numeral I 3 and the inlet by the numeral M. The fan wheel assembly comprises, as usual, a disc l5 attached to a hub Hi to which disc blades I60 are secured by means of radial reinforcing meml6 bers IT. The inlet I4 is preferably substantially equal to or slightly less than the diameter of the fan wheel. I

On the inlet side of the fan wheel there is secured to the wheel a foraminous guard designated generally by the numeral I8 having the general shape of a compound cone. The apex angle A of the forward cone l9 should be 45 to 90, preferably 68'. The apex angle B of the rearward truncated cone should be 45 to 170, but preferably 120. It has been observed that where a flat type guard is employed the greatest wear on the guard develops in a circular band, termed the ring of wear, concentric with the disc and disposed about half way between the periphery of the fan wheel and thecenter. Consequently, the cones l9 and 20 should not intersect at a point farther away from the centerthan the smaller circle of 'the ring of wear, preferably just inward of this circle. The blades lid of the fan wheel extend toward the inlet M to support guard l8, and the guard I8 is fixed to the blades Ilia by any suitable means,

such as welding. The larger end 2| of a conical transition 22 is secured about the inlet It, the 40 narrower end 23 terminating forward of the guard l8; The apex angle C of the transition 22 depends upon the apex angle A, but is generally less than apex angle A. For the preferred value of 68 for the angle A, the angle C should be about 60. However, this angle may vary from 40 to 95 depending upon the value of the angle A.

It is preferred that the perforations 24 of the guard l8 be approximately $4; inch in diameter (holes of this size are subject to less hairingover than larger holes) and equilaterally spaced at of an inch between centers. The nose 25 of the cone [9 should preferably be rounded rather than pointed, since a sharp point at this place has been found to create a collecting focus.

In operation the fan wheel is rotated in the usual manner, the direction of the air-borne material being as indicated by the directional arrow in Figure 1. As the material passes into the transition 22, it is subjectedto expansion, whereby the velocity is correspondingly reduced. This also reduces the momentum of the material. Some of the material strikes the cone list a glancing contact not exceeding an angle of incidence of one-half of angle A. However, stroboscopic observation has shown that in most cases this contact is almost tangential when the preferred values of the angles A, B, and C, indicated above, are employed. As the fan wheel ,ll rotates, carrying with it the guard ll, the extended portions of the blade within the guard causes a continuous current of air to flow outward through the perforations of the guard between said extended portions. As the material glances oil of the cone l9, it is directed into the streams of air flowing out through the perforations between these extended blade portions and, consequently, a direct contact between the material and this portion of the guard is avoided. The air flowing outward at this point consequently acts as a cushion, more specifically a pneumatic cushion, so that any further change of direction of the material is made against this pneumatic cushion.

Actual tests have shown that this improvement results in approximately a 10% greater mechanical eiflciency than other comparable types of cotton handling centrifugal fans. Heretofore, experiments have indicated that fans of this type cannot successfully operate on inlet velocities in excess of 4,000 linear feet per minute without inducing the cracking and shattering of cotton seed. However, the above-described invention has been. successfully employed at inlet velocities as high. as 5,000 linear feet per minute without producing damage.

Two general factors are responsible for the successful operation of this invention, namely, the cushioning effect of the cone 2| and the fact that the path of the material being operated upon changes from one directionto the other gradually rather than abruptly, thereby reducing acceleration forces. In view of this latter factor, this invention may be modified in instances where inlet velocities are not high or other favorable conditions permit it by using a cone II which is not perforated, thereby doing away with thecushioning effect and depending solely on the gradual directional change factor. While such a modification is not as satisfactory as the preferred embodiment illustrated and above described, it may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a centrifugal fan having an inlet disposed axially on one side of the fan wheel, said fan wheel having a plurality of blades, a forminous guard secured to the inlet side of said wheel, said guard being of the general shape of two intersecting co-axial cones, one of said cones being adjacent the fan. wheel and being truncated, the other cone being surmounted on the truncated cone and having a smaller apex angle than the truncated cone, said fan blades having portions extending within the guard.

one side of the fan wheel, said fan wheel having a plurality of fan blades; of a foraminous guard secured to the inlet side of said wheel. said guard being of the general shape of two intersecting co-axiai cones, the cone adjacent the wheel being tnmcated and having a larger apex angle than the other cone, the locus of intersection of said conu being concentric with the axis of the cones, between said axis and the periphery of the fan wheel, said fan blades having portions extending within said guard.

3. A centrifugal fan comprising a casing, a fan wheel, an inlet and an outlet through said casing,

said inlet being disposed axially on one side of said wheel, said wheelhaving a plurality of fan blades, said inlet being substantially equalin di-, ameter to said fan wheel, a foraminous guard axially secured to the inlet side of said wheel, saidguard beingof the general shape of a compound cone, a divergent inlet transition encasing saidguard, said transition being secured to said inlet, whereby the velocity. of material entering said transition is reduced.

4. In a centrifugal fan having an inlet disposed axially on one side of the fan wheel, said fan wheel havinga pluralityof blades, a 10mminous guard secured to the inlet side of the wheel,

said guard being of the general shape of two intersecting co-axial cones, one of said cones being adjacent the fan wheel and being truncated,

fan blades having portions extending within said guard.

5. In a centrifugal fan having an inlet disposed axially on one side of the fan wheel, said fan wheel having a plurality of blades, a foranrinous, guard secured to the inlet side of said wheel, said guardbeing of the general shape of two intersecting co-axial cones, one of said cones being adjacent the fan wheel and being truncated, the other cone being surmounted on the truncated cone, said truncated cone having an apex angle of about 120, the apex angle of the other cone being about 68, said blades having portions extending within said guard.

6. A centrifugal fan' comprising a fan wheel havinga plurality of fan blades, a casing about said fan wheel, an inlet disposed axially on one side of said fan through said casing, said inlet having a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of said'fan wheel, a foraminous guard axially secured to the inlet side of said wheel, said guard being of the general shape of two intersecting co-axial cones, the cone adjacent said wheel being truncated and having a larger tersection of said cones being concentric with the axis of the conesbetween said axis and the periphery of the fan wheel, said fan blades having portions extending within said guard, a divergent transition encasing' said guard, said transition being secured to said inlet, whereby the velocity of material entering said transition is reduced before entering the inlet.

7. The combination with a centrifugal fan having a fan wheel, an inlet disposed axially on one side of the fan wheel, said fan wheel having a plurality of fan blades; of a guard axially secured to the inlet side of said wheel, said guard being of the general shape of two intersecting co-axial cones, the cone adjacent the wheel being truncated and having a larger apex angle than the other cone, the latter cone being foraminous.

8. In a centrifugal fan having a fan wheel, an inlet disposed axially on one sideof the fan wheel, said fan wheel having a plurality of blades, a foraminous cone secured to said wheel converging outwardly and disposed so as to cover the radial midsection of said wheel, the blades of said wheel extending within said cone, and another foraminous cone, having a rounded apex, surmounted on said first-mentioned cone.

GERALD NATHAN FRANKS. 

